


The Dragon Tapestry (Gifts)

by TheCourtSorcerer



Series: 5 Languages of Love [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arthur loves his dragonlord, Canon Era, Court Sorcerer Merlin (Merlin), Crown Princess Morgana, Dragonlord Merlin (Merlin), Dragons, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gift Giving, Gifts, Gifts to show love, Good morgana, King Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), M/M, Thoughtful Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Unbeta'd, five love languages, married merthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29388903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCourtSorcerer/pseuds/TheCourtSorcerer
Summary: “You’re being vague, Arthur. It’s unbecoming,” Merlin scolded teasingly, not managing to hide the confusion from his voice.Arthur just laughed, shaking his head. “It’s a surprise,Merlin. Ihaveto be vague. Come on, don’t complain, the courtyard isn’tthatfar.”As if that solved anything.“The courtyard? Why are we going to the courtyard at this time? The sun’s nearly set, what are you planning, Arthur?”
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: 5 Languages of Love [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2125089
Comments: 26
Kudos: 210
Collections: Tavernfest Round 2: The Five Love Languages





	The Dragon Tapestry (Gifts)

**Author's Note:**

> Part four of the Five Love Languages series! I was honestly really excited for this one because I just really wanted to write it. I mean, dragons. 
> 
> I like how it came out. It was fun to write, and maybe a little self-indulgent because _d r a g o n s_ and Married Merthur. 
> 
> ...Okay, 100% self-indulgent. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this addition to the series!! One more to go and then we're done!
> 
> Next up is Physical Touch!!

Merlin wasn’t sure what to expect when he entered his and Arthur’s shared chambers that evening, but it certainly wasn’t this.

“…Arthur?” The newly crowned Royal Consort asked hesitantly as he stared at his husband, who sat on their bed with his back facing the door, hunched over something fairly large as if hiding it from sight. “What…Are you doing?”

The King jumped just barely, obviously not having been expecting Merlin back so soon. He _was_ early, after all… He was supposed to be meeting with the druids in the council meeting Hall until much later in the evening, but it ended up being fairly easy to come to an agreement and they were able to part ways early.

“Merlin! You’re back already!” He stated loudly, launching himself off the bed and turning to face Merlin. It was then Merlin got to finally see what was in his arms. He raised an eyebrow, walking over to Arthur.

He kept his eyes on the square parcel, which was wrapped in a beautiful red silk fabric and tied close with golden thread. “What is that?” He motioned to it with a hand before crossing his arms.

Arthur just grinned, almost nervously, before sitting back on the bed. “Sit.”

“Commanding as ever,” Merlin hummed, but sat beside him on the bed nonetheless after shedding his jacket. “What is it? Another gift from some stuck-up nobleman who never thought you’d really wed me and is trying to get back in your good graces?”

It was something that happened a lot. While most had been thrilled to find out the King was to marry his Court Sorcerer, as Merlin had become well-loved in Camelot since his arrival, there had been a number of noblemen who were less than pleased about their relationship. Specifically, a number of noblemen who were sour that the King wouldn’t be wedding one of _their_ offspring and giving them a Royal child for bragging rights.

Once they’d seen how serious Arthur and Merlin were about each other and Merlin had been officially crowned King Consort (the marriage being one of love and political gain thanks to Merlin’s king-like status amongst the Druids), they’d rather quickly changed their minds. The King and his Consort had been showered with wedding presents from their beloved denizens, some of the almost most extravagant gifts being from these noblemen trying to get back on the good side of their Kings. (The _most_ extravagant were no doubt those from their friends from allied kingdoms sending their congratulations—Mithian and Elena really knew how to gift!) 

Merlin really thought it was too much, but Arthur took great amusement in it. Really, Merlin was starting to think Arthur’s favourite part of the day was when George (Merlin would never get over how strange it was that George was their servant—that _he_ had a servant) would come to their chambers announcing Lord Alkwin or Lady Elise had asked him to deliver this package of rare sweetmeats or that brand new winter cloak.

To Merlin’s relief, after one of them tried to gift the two a rather useless longsword crafted of silver and gold of all things with a ruby encrusted hilt (how they managed to afford such a thing was beyond Merlin), Arthur announced that while it was appreciated greatly, the gifting was to come to an end. He, of course, did it gracefully and kindly, and expressed his gratitude, but really it was _too much_ even for Arthur at that point. Especially since they were supposedly wedding gifts for the two, but from the ass-kissing noblemen and women, they had been obviously for Arthur rather than Merlin, which Arthur frequently expressed his annoyance with.

It had been four weeks since the wedding and Merlin’s coronation and a fortnight since the gift giving had finally stopped, so Merlin was surprised to find that another had been delivered. Even more so, he was surprised George wasn’t there waiting to see what it was like he had been during those long two weeks.

“No,” Arthur snapped Merlin out of his thoughts with a chuckle, “no, it’s nothing like that. No more of those, thank the gods for that. One more crimson fur lined cloak and I was going to snap.”

Merlin huffed out a small laugh at this. It was true, the noble’s seemed to be quite obsessed with red winter fur lined cloaks. Arthur must have received at least five, three of which he gifted to a few coat-less peasants at the market one particularly cold day in what he surely thought was secret (shocker: it wasn’t). The other two he kept for he and Merlin, insisting Merlin wear it when they go out together. Merlin knew it was just because he loved seeing his husband in that beautiful Pendragon red.

“Well, what is it then?” Merlin pulled off his boots carefully before adjusting so he was sitting cross-legged on the bed, facing Arthur. He was definitely curious now.

Arthur shifted slightly before mirroring his husbands position, placing the parcel down gently on the bed between them. “Well, I know you’re probably sick of gifts by now… But I’ve been working on this for a very long time, just for you. It’s part one of my big elaborate wedding gift to you from me.”

“Arthur…” Merlin’s expression softened and he smiled at the blond, “You don’t need to get me a wedding gift— _you’re_ my wedding gift. I married _you_.”

“No, I know, I just—” Arthur shook his head, pushing the gift closer to Merlin. “This is important, Merlin. It’s important to me, and I know it will be to you. I’ve had this in the making well before our wedding… This, _this_ ,” he motioned to the silk wrapped present, “means so much. I know you already know I love you, all of you, but this is special and I do need to give it to you. Plus, this took months to set up and get, so I’d really like you to at least look at it. If you hate it…”

“I won’t hate it!” Merlin quickly interrupted, wide eyed as he grabbed the parcel, looking at the wrapping in awe. Months… This meant a lot to Arthur… What on earth was it? “I won’t hate it. Okay… Okay, I’ll open it.”

A grin lit up Arthur’s face, and Merlin immediately knew he made the right decision.

“You may want to stand when you open it,” Arthur commented, already standing from the bed. Merlin gave him a strange look but got up anyway. The two stood side by side, facing the bed, as Merlin carefully pulled the golden thread tying the present loose. Arthur grabbed the thread before it could drop to the floor and set it on the bed.

Merlin gave him a small smile at this and began to unwrap the soft fabric. Arthur watched with anticipation as Merlin pulled the fabric aside and set it by the thread. Now, in his hands rested a folded square of…fabric? Maybe? Merlin tilted his head with a confused frown. Arthur must have picked up on his lack of understanding, because just took a breath and instructed,

“Unfold it and lay it on the bed.”

He sounded uncharacteristically anxious, Merlin noted. He did as he was told, though.

Slowly, Merlin unfolded the…blanket? Perhaps… Merlin unfolded the gift and laid it out on the bed before taking a good look at it. When his mind processed what he was seeing, he froze, staring at the blanket—no, the _tapestry_ —with wide, stunned eyes. 

“Arthur…” He breathed, a hand covering his mouth as he stared at the small, finely crafted tapestry. “ _Arthur_.”

“So… You like it?” Merlin’s eyes snapped to Arthur, looking at him as if he were an idiot before shaking his head quickly and looking back to the tapestry.

“No, I— _gods_ , Arthur, I _love_ it… How did you—?”

An arm wrapped around his waist, and Arthur pulled them closer together as they stared at the piece of art laid before them. “I commissioned a talented magical artist from Nemeth while she was passing through, months ago, explained to her exactly what I needed… She and her husband were thrilled to have such a project, worked day and night on it. It came in this morning.”

Merlin let out a puff of air, borderline awestruck. It was… Incredible. He couldn’t believe anyone had this much talent, couldn’t believe it was real…

Before the two Kings, laid out across the bed was a tapestry unlike anything Merlin had seen. It wasn’t as large as some of the ones in the castle. It was maybe a metre long, and a little over half a metre wide. The design was what had him speechless, though. Merlin could feel the magic woven into it, and he knew that it was thanks to magic that it was as perfect as it was.

It depicted the courtyard during day, with a bright blue, cloudless sky. In the blue of the sky, there was two dragons as if in flight. A large golden one, which took up a significant portion of the sky, and beneath that one a much smaller but still large, almost shimmering, white one, with eyes a piercing blue. The dragons designed carefully to look as if circling one another. Merlin knew without a doubt as soon as he saw them, they were meant to be Kilgharrah and Aithusa, both of which he’d introduced Arthur to two years previous when he finally came clean about his magic, the ban was lifted, and he was named Court Sorcerer with Morgana as his official apprentice (at her request) alongside her role as Crown Princess and heir to the throne. 

Letting his eyes travel down the artwork, they fell upon the two figures woven into the piece standing in the courtyard. One with hair of golden sunlight, the other hair of the darkest night, both donning crowns. One of gold, one of silver. They weren’t very detailed, which made sense even with the magic used to make it, but even so Merlin knew it was him and Arthur. What he found most curious was the picture between them. It seemed to be an egg, a deep forest green teardrop shaped egg. A dragon egg. 

“That’s part two of your present,” Arthur suddenly whispered, startling Merlin out of his daze. He pulled his eyes away from the egg woven into the artwork, and looked to Arthur in curiosity.

“What? What is?”

Arthur just grinned and pulled away before grabbing Merlin’s hand and leading him to the door. Merlin shot the magically-crafted tapestry one last look before willingly following Arthur.

“You’re being vague, Arthur. It’s unbecoming,” Merlin scolded teasingly, not managing to hide the confusion from his voice.

Arthur just laughed, shaking his head. “It’s a surprise, _Mer_ lin. I _have_ to be vague. Come on, don’t complain, the courtyard isn’t _that_ far.”

As if that solved anything.

“The courtyard? Why are we going to the courtyard at this time? The sun’s nearly set, what are you planning, Arthur?” His mind flickered briefly to what the tapestry depicted, but he let the thought go as soon as it came. It was impossible anyway.

“You’ll see! Now, shut up!” Arthur huffed, grinning like a mad man. Merlin wondered if he should be concerned. “Trust me, this is… Well, this is a gift you’ll never forget. I hope this shows you just how much I love and support you, _all_ of you.”

Merlin let out an almost-whine at being kept in the dark, but he had to admit, he was excited. The anticipation was eating him alive, and the way Arthur was speaking… He was filled with warmth. He knew this would be something big. Something unlike anything he’d received before.

It wasn’t long before they stepped out into the courtyard, and as soon as they did and Merlin’s eyes fell on the center of the empty space, his heart and body stumbled to a stop.

Arthur let out a small chuckle, presumably having anticipated this reaction, and just tugged Merlin along to the middle of the square where his gift sat in a wagon cushioned with hay. Every bone in the Warlock’s body sang with joy at the sight and he found himself blinking back tears as he processed what he was seeing.

“Arthur… Arthur, _how_ —?” His voice caught in his throat as he approached the wagon. The King just grinned and carefully reached into the wagon, grabbing and pulling out the large, deep green, teardrop shaped egg and holding it out to Merlin.

Merlin took it from him, slowly dropping to his knees on the hard ground as he cradled the egg close. He looked up to Arthur with wide, teary blue eyes.

“I thought Aithusa was the last…” His voice was hardly a whisper, but he knew Arthur could hear.

Arthur smiled and kneeled in front of him, reaching out to cup his cheek before gently resting his hand on the top of the egg Merlin clutched like a lifeline, uncaring of the cold winter wind brushing against his coat-less body.

“Months ago, around midsummer, I heard whispers in the Lower Town of a strange discovery overseas in the northwest. A traveller was here, telling tales to all of the unusual birds egg he’d found in a cave in his kingdom,” Arthur began. Merlin listened with unwavering attention, still in shock he held a dragon egg in his arms. “I found this traveller and I asked him to tell me everything. He informed me of his monarch’s name, and I began conversation with his Queen in secrecy. I didn’t want to tell you in case I was wrong… But the description sounded just like Aithusa’s egg in all but colour…”

Arthur paused an took a deep breath. “The Queen, Queen Aynsley, she sent me sketches of the egg, and I knew. It was difficult to communicate overseas, took much too long to get letters to and fro, but it was worth the trouble when she welcomed me to claim the egg. I sent someone out immediately. Then, as I was awaiting their return with the egg, I met the sorceress who made your tapestry. I waited months for her to finish it, and the egg only arrived finally a sennight ago, as there were troubles at sea. It was all worth it, though… Because I knew how much this would mean to you, and to Kilgharrah and Aithusa, but mainly you. The birth of a new dragon…”

Merlin felt his heart swell with pride and love at his husband’s explanation. All that trouble… He went through all of that for Merlin, so Merlin could bring this little dragon to life, because he knew how much it meant to him…

“Arthur, I… I don’t…” He stumbled over his words, shaking his head as he blinked away new tears, “I don’t know what to say…”

The King just removed his hand from the egg and sat back on his heels, putting some distance between himself and Merlin. “Say you’ll hatch this egg.”

“Yes!” Merlin let out a wet laugh, “Of course I will! Gods, _Arthur_ , this is… this is indescribable, thank you so much…”

“Thank me by hatching it!” Arthur failed to conceal a grin, “Come on! I want to see the great Dragonlord breathe new life into Camelot!”

“Okay! Okay!” Merlin nodded quickly, gently setting the egg onto the ground between them before sitting back and taking a deep breath. “Okay…”

The dragonlord took another deep breath and leaned in close, gently pressing his forehead to the top of the egg with his eyes closed. A whisper echoed in his mind; a name seemingly given by the winds around them. A smile graced his face he felt the magic swirling around them. He pulled back again, though not far, and with a shaky voice murmured,

“ _Korazion_.”

He opened his eyes, the world feeling still around them, and glanced just for a moment to Arthur, who looked simply awestruck. The sound of cracking drew his eyes back to the forest green egg immediately. His breathing hitched when he saw the first break in the shell, which was quickly joined by two more cracks. Faintly, he heard a gasp from Arthur, but his eyes were glued to the egg as it slowly hatched.

It felt like an eternity until finally a head popped out the shell with a weak chirp. From there, the dragon broke free of the shell quickly, shaking off the broken bits as it wobbled out. Merlin heard a choked sob, and belatedly realized it came from him, as the hatchling stumbled up to him.

“Arthur…” He whispered, his face feeling traitorously wet, “Arthur, _look at her_ …”

“I see her, Merlin, I see her,” Arthur whispered back, sounding just as awed as Merlin felt. “She’s… Wow…”

“She’s _alive_.”

“How do we know it’s a she?” Arthur asked softly, as if he would startle the little dragon by speaking too loudly. Merlin just grinned as the hatchling nuzzled against his hand, chirping and chittering.

“I just know. I just… Know.” Merlin let out the breath he had been holding when Korazion stumbled back and spread her wings experimentally.

Merlin and Arthur stared with wide, bright eyes at her. She was tiny, a bit smaller than Aithusa when she first hatched even, but Merlin wasn’t worried by this. She didn’t feel ill or anything, she seemed strong and healthy. She was stunning. Her scales were a similar shade to her egg, a deep forest green. In the golden glow of the sunset, she almost shimmered. She let out a happy cry as she flapped her wings a few times and stomped her feet before looking from Merlin to Arthur and back. Her eyes, Merlin noticed, were like emeralds. Green like her scales, but bright and lighter.

“She’s beautiful…” Arthur murmured, and all Merlin could do was nod. Taking a deep breath and composing himself, Merlin carefully scooped the hatchling into his arms, letting her crawl out of his grip and onto his shoulders, where she wrapped herself loosely over them like a shawl. Her baby-sharp claws clung to his shirt to keep her secure. Slowly, Merlin stood as Arthur collected the shell.

“What do we do with this?” The King asked, holding it gently as he stared at Merlin and his hatchling with that special fond look in his eyes.

A small surge of protectiveness ran through Merlin and he quickly replied, “keep it. We keep it.”

Arthur gave him a knowing smile and nodded.

“Korazion…” The blond mused after a moment of silence passed, “I think I’ll call her Kora.”

Merlin raised an eyebrow, but as if hearing and understanding, the young girl let out a purring chirp of approval. Arthur grinned widely at the sound.

“I think she likes it!” Merlin chuckled at the excitement in his king’s voice.

“I suppose she does.”

Kora nuzzled her face into Merlin’s neck, her little body rumbling with what could easily be mistaken as purring. Merlin hummed at the action, smiling. She grew attached to him quickly, but Merlin found he grew attached to her just as quick. Oh… Aithusa and Kilgharrah will be so thrilled… He’ll have to tell them as soon as possible.

“So,” Arthur brought him out of his thoughts again, “where will she stay?”

Merlin frowned in thought, biting his bottom lip. He couldn’t just send her off with Kilgharrah and Aithusa… He didn’t need to like he had with Aithusa… Arthur knew know, and he wanted to keep the little one close to him now that he could.

“With us. Until she gets too big… We can set up her a room beside our chambers so we can always be close, until she gets too large to stay in the castle. Then, we’ll find a place nearby for her to stay,” Merlin decided.

Arthur smirked mischievously and nodded. “Right, alright! Well, we should start looking for a place spacious enough for a dragon to stay right away, anyhow.”

Perplexed, Merlin gave him a questioning look as he raised a hand to pet the hatchling, who seemed to have fallen asleep, on his shoulders. “Why’s that? If she is staying with us until she gets too large, we have plenty of time to search for a place, or even make one with my magic. We don’t need to start so soon.”

“Oh, but we do!” Arthur insisted, a suspiciously innocent expression on his face, “Where else will the other hatchlings stay when you wake them, Merlin? They can’t _all_ stay with us!”

Merlin froze, his hand dropping from Kora’s head back to his side, as his eyes slowly widened in recognition of his words. He couldn’t possible mean…

“The other hatchlings…?” Arthur winked and leaned in, pressing a kiss to Merlin’s cheek before murmuring.

“You didn’t think this was the only one, did you?” Arthur asked his husband, smirking, before adding with a smile as he stepped back,

“They’ll be here from overseas within the week.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!!! 
> 
> You are _incredible_ and literally worth so much, okay? Okay. Get some sleep if you need it!


End file.
